Sen. Davis to speak at 2014 PPA Convention
State Sen. Wendy Davis will keynote the luncheon on Friday, April 4, in Dumas. Davis, who gained national attention last year after an 11-hour filibuster in Austin, is now pursuing the Democratic nomination to be the next Governor of Texas.
Other convention highlights will be a Friday evening keynote by Aledo publisher Randy Keck; Open Records / Open Meetings updates by Don Richards; Revenue Ideas moderated by Dwight McKenzie; New Frontiers in Digital Delivery by the Amarillo Globe-News; the PPA Ethics Panel; the Hall of Fame; and PPA Better Newspaper Contest Awards. Join us in Dumas, April 3-5. Hotel deadline is March 15. Convention registration deadline is March 28. Registration information is online by clicking here.
PPA Scholarship Applications due March 15, 2014
Panhandle Press Association Scholarship applications are due to the Secretary next month. All applications must be postmarked by March 15, 2014, and are available at the following links.
Hall of Fame Nomination Deadline January 31
Nominations are now open for the PPA Hall of Fame. Members can nominate a veteran journalist by January 31, 2014, and complete details are available here: http://www.panhandlepublisher.com/home/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/2013_Hall_of_Fame_Nomination_Form.pdf
2013 BNC Rules and Labels – Deadline January 31, 2014
The Panhandle Press Association 2013 Better Newspaper Contest Rules and information is available at the following links! Early bird deadline is January 24, 2014, and the final deadline is January 31, 2014. This year’s convention will be April 4, 5, & 6 in Dumas. More details and convention registration information TBA.
http://www.panhandlepublisher.com/home/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/2013_Contest.pdf
Clarendon, Clovis top PPA contest
The Clarendon Enterprise and the Clovis News-Journal were named the General Excellence winners of the PPA Better Newspaper Contest on Saturday, April 6, 2013.
Contest winners were announced during the 103rd annual PPA convention in Amarillo. Clarendon and the Moore County News*Press also each received $250 for winning the Ken Towery Community Service Award.
Complete contest results are available here:
Featured speakers at this year’s convention were US Rep. Mac Thornberry and Tumbleweed Smith. Sessions were conducted all day Friday, April 5, by Tim Harrower on “Futurizing Your Newspaper” and building up the tools needed to be a journalist in the digital age, and Griff Singer and an expert panel gave tips Saturday morning for “Dealing with Disasters.”
Former PPA president and longtime area journalist John Brooks of Castro County and Amarillo Globe-News columnist and longtime sports writer and editor Jon Mark Beilue were inducted into the PPA Hall of Fame.
Former PPA president and longtime area journalist John Brooks of Castro County and Amarillo Globe-News columnist and longtime sports writer and editor Jon Mark Beilue were inducted into the PPA Hall of Fame.
John Brooks’ résumé includes working at the Castro County News from 1967 to 1973, then from 1984 to 1987 and again from 1993 to 1997. He worked at the HSU Brand at Hardin-Simmons University from 1973 to 1974 and the Hereford Brand from 1987 to 1993 and rejoined the Here-ford Brand staff in 2012. He was an active member of Panhandle Press Association from 1984 to 1997. He served on the board of the association from 1987 to 1993, including a term as President from 1992 to Jan. 10, 1993. Brooks has received many awards through the years, including a Personal School Bell Award in 1991 from the Texas State Teachers Association for education coverage in Hereford. He has received dozens of individual and staff awards from PPA and Texas Press Association. Brooks left the Hereford Brand in January 2012 due to health reason, but he continues to write a weekly column.
Beilue has covered the Texas Panhandle in two major roles at the Amarillo Globe-News, first as sports editor and now as a popular, general columnist. Beilue grew up in Groom and graduated from Texas Tech University. While sports editor of The University Daily at Tech in the 1970s, he covered Southwest Conference athletics and interviewed such sports figures as basketball legend Bob Knight. At the Globe-News, Beilue worked as a sportswriter and assistant sports editor before serving as sports editor for 17 years. He also can be heard as a color man on area high school football radio broadcasts. Since 2006, he has written columns and news on issues, trends, and people on the front page and elsewhere in the newspaper, touching readers across the region with heartfelt observations and descriptions. He is a modern newspaperman whose breadth of knowledge also provides a link to the area’s past.
The PPA was led this year by Canyon’s Amanda Rogers. She will continue on the PPA Board as Immediate Past President with the following officers: Wanda Brooks of Dumas, President; Jeff Blackmon of Shamrock, Vice President; and Roger Estlack of Clarendon, Secretary/Treasurer, along with directors Ashlee Estlack of Clarendon, Debra Wells of Borger, ReDonn Woods of Pampa, Larry Thornton of Muleshoe, and Wayne Hodgin of Post.
2013 PPA Scholarship Deadline is May 15
The deadline for college students and graduating high school seniors to submit applications for the 2013 PPA Scholarship is May 15. Download the forms at the following links:
PPA-Scholarship-2013-High-School
PPA Convention Registration Deadline March 29
Registration deadline for the 2013 PPA Convention is March 29. Check out the convention info and registration form here:
PPA Hall of Fame Nominations due January 31, 2013
Nominations for this year’s PPA Hall of Fame are due Thursday, January 31, 2013. Details and a nomination form are available at the following link:
Scholarship deadline August 17
Thanks to a successful silent auction at the 2012 convention, the association has expanded our scholarship offering to include not only high school graduates but also currently enrolled college students who have completed 24 hours of credit. The deadline to apply is August 17, 2012, and the details are available on the forms at the following links:
PPA 2012 Scholarship Application – High School Graduates
PPA 2012 Scholarship Application – College Students
PPA has big time in Canyon
The 102nd annual Panhandle Press Convention was held March 29-31 in Canyon this year, and attendance was great for every session.
West Texas A&M University and the Panhandle Plains Historical Museum were the sites for our workshops and meals, and everyone was very impressed with the facilities and hospitality shown to the association.
Featured speakers were romance author Jodi Thomas and humorist Dr. Don Newbury. Sessions were conducted by NNA’s Max Heath on postal issues, Dave Wohlfarth on news writing, and WTAMU professor Kim Bruce on marketing. A round table was also held on using social media at your newspaper.
Former Canyon publisher Debbie Aylesworth and former Floydada publisher Alice Gilroy were inducted into the PPA Hall of Fame. The Plainview Daily Herald and The Clarendon Enterprise won the General Excellence awards during the better newspaper contest, and the Enterprise along with the Moore County News*Press were the winners of the Ken Towery Community Service Award.
The PPA was led this year by Olton’s Phil Hamilton. He will continue on the PPA Board as Immediate Past President with the following officers: Amanda Rogers of Canyon, President; Wanda Brooks of Dumas, Vice President; and Ashlee Estlack of Clarendon, Secretary/Treasurer, along with directors Mary Smithee of Canadian, Jeff Blackmon of Dimmitt, Roger Estlack of Clarendon, and Debra Wells of Borger.